HBO's 'Leaving Neverland' part I: Documentary review

Wade Robson, Dan Reed and James Safechuck 

‘Leaving Neverland’: ** (2/5 stars) 

Everyone knew Michael Jackson was a weird guy. The voice, the crotch grabbing, the childhood that never existed, the fame, the fortune etc. But 'Leaving Neverland' depicts a much darker, strange and very, very uncomfortable side of the man that once was, probably, the most famous person on the planet. 

  

It's no secret Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers of our lifetime. His charisma captivated millions and those millions were either apologists or detractors. The apologists thought he was one of God's greatest creation (I was one of those people) but the detractors always thought something was not right. And there was something clearly not right inside Michael's head. 

  

The documentary started off by showing these two grown adults in their 30's (Wade Robson and James Safechuck) and their upbringing whilst being, like everybody else at that time, fans of Michael Jackson. Both had normal childhoods up until they met the King of Pop.

  

Robson was born in Australia and met Jackson when the singer was on tour in Down Under. He won a dance contest and that gave him access to the singer. Safechuck was born in America and met Michael Jackson when he shot a commercial with the pop star.  

  

The first part of the documentary really entangles you on an emotional ride because when you're watching these kids grow up with the vintage videos from their personal library playing in the background, you know deep down something horrible was bound to happen. It all comes crashing down and you suddenly forget Michael Jackson was not only a husband, a father, a son and a person but also a sex predator.  

  

The masturbation and the fondling is something so present in the picture that it kind of makes you want to turn off the TV and hope that this is just a movie. A bad movie. It's too violent not in a Quentin Tarantino way but in a monstrous way. 

  

Dan Reed, the director, gives the families ample amounts of time to tell their stories. Both mothers of Safechuck and Robson are given a lot of air time and the more they speak the more it becomes apparent that Michael wasn't the only one to blame. Both moms didn't care leaving their sons unattended with a total stranger. Maybe to them he was just Michael. Michael, the man who moonwalked and sang about healing the world and making it a better place.  

  

Both families were clearly starstruck by being able to have contact with this larger-than-life persona and this is so relevant to the story told. Not only were the kids enamored by the man they saw on TV but their mothers also couldn't react like rational human beings. They visited his numerous estates all around the USA and Michael was allowed by the families to sleep with both Wade and James and nobody saw any wrongdoing in that. Safechuck’s mother even said: 'They were just doing kid things'. Go figure. Robson mother even went on a trip to the Grand Canyon with her daughter and left her son and Michael Jackson all alone in the Neverland ranch. Only then did she started panicking...

  

The amount of detail both victims go into is sad and sickening. It makes for a real uncomfortable tale but the point of the documentary is hammered home. Every time the gross details of molestation, rape and masturbation are talked about, there is always a close up shot of one of the victims or a nightly shot of the location, either the Neverland ranch or the hotel in Paris, where the illegal acts took place. 

  

One disturbing moment is the way Michael would choose a kid over another like he was choosing a pair of underwear is mind blowing. He would put aside his long-time relationship (this is weird) with both Robson and Safechuck to be with Brett Barnes and Macaulay Culkin instead. Besides the betrayal of the two boys, the mothers also thought they were part of the whole ensemble and they too felt betrayed. 

  

The mother of Wade Robson, Joy, was the typical nonsensical, and recipient of the Worst Mother of the Year Award, and whenever she opened her mouth, it made me want to slap her in the face. But not in the way I would like to slap Bruce Dern in 'The Cowboys'. She was just starstruck with Michael Jackson way more than her own son, who was a 5-year-old. Joy was invited by Michael Jackson to travel to the USA and bring Wade and his sister along. She left her bipolar husband Dennis (who would later commit suicide because he was estranged from his own family) in Australia and traveled to a place she didn't know too well and complained when the conditions were not 5-star hotels or limousines and private jets. She couldn't realize that the fix was in. Michael had moved on to other kids. Again, kid things. 

  

Production wise this is a great documentary; the camera angles are very solid and the overhead camera work is great and essential when you don't have access to many of the locations where the sexual acts were allegedly committed and both Reed and HBO did an amazing job. 

  

The first part of the four-hour program is strange and disturbing most of the time but the overall product is very compelling because of the production from HBO and the director Reed. But as a documentary it is simply uncomfortable and hard to watch. I certainly don't expect a better product in the second part.

VERSÃO PORTUGUESA: https://martimsilvaexperience.blogspot.com/2019/03/leaving-neverland-1-parte-critica-ao.html

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